


Motivation

by orphan_account



Category: Naruto, 弱虫ペダル | Yowamushi Pedal
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Sports, Background pre-slash, Bicycles, Coming of Age, Crossover, Gen, Humor, POV Third Person Limited
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-19
Updated: 2014-04-19
Packaged: 2018-01-19 23:57:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1488967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It isn't Shikamaru's idea to join Konoha High School's Bicycle Racing Club.  He hates anything that makes him sweat, and he has no motivation for competing.  He only ever wanted to lie out under sakura trees and watch the clouds.  But Ino drags him forcibly into the club, and he winds up enjoying himself thanks to Asuma.  But he doesn't find motivation until after a race with the Sōhoku Bicycle Racing Club, where he meets a certain green-haired climber....</p>
            </blockquote>





	Motivation

**Author's Note:**

  * For [celticdrum](https://archiveofourown.org/users/celticdrum/gifts).



> Notes: Since crossover AUs were part of the request, I chose another popular anime for the crossover: Yowamushi Pedal. If you haven't seen it, no worries! I designed the story so that you don't need to know Yowamushi Pedal to understand it. This is an alternate universe setting for Naruto, where all the characters exist in the real world, and could even be considered to take place in the Yowapeda universe, which is also based on the real world.
> 
> Beta Reader: Many thanks to Erin C. for the excellent beta reading! All mistakes that remain are my own.

…

The temperature was borderline warm, and Shikamaru couldn't repress the occasional sneezing fit. Even if he hadn't looked at a calendar, he would have known it was spring. Of course, another clue might have been that he was now officially a high school student, but that only worked if he bothered going to school. He'd already missed the first week of class. The sakura still boomed, and Shikamaru saw no point in going to school when he could sit beneath a sakura tree and sleep.

"You lazy bum!"

Shikamaru started awake to a rough toeing in the ribs. "Ow!" he protested, rolling over and glaring at Ino. She stood over him, hands on her hips, her glare as fierce as the boar she'd been named after. The Konoha High School uniform didn't really suit her. The dark green coat made her look sick, and the black skirt made her legs look too white. Shikamaru did a double take and realized that was mostly because she was wearing long white socks.

"Why are you even in uniform if you're not going to class?" Ino demanded.

"Because then my mother thinks I'm going to class."

"Ugh!" Ino kicked at him again, but Shikamaru dodged. He once again regretted not befriending a meeker girl in elementary school. Then he wouldn't have had to suffer so much physical violence. But then, he'd also have been bored. "You're going to class today," Ino told him in the same tone that Shikamaru's mother might. "They're recruiting for their clubs."

"So?" Shikamaru sat up and yawned. "I don't want to join a club. That's a lot like work. Staying late every day, after school? Showing up on weekends and vacations? No, thank you."

"But I want to join a club. And you're going to help me." A particular fire seemed to light in Ino's eyes. It was the sort of fire that Shikamaru knew better than to quench. "I want to join the bicycle racing club."

"The bicycle racing club?"

"The bicycle racing club."

"But only boys can join the bicycle racing club."

"That's why you're going to help me!" Ino grinned, flashing sharp white teeth that Shikamaru knew would hurt if she bit him. And she probably would if he turned her down. "I've already set up a false identity with the private academy near here for my twin brother, Inorō."

"You haven't got a twin brother."

"That's the point. Our school's bicycle racing club has a special charter that allows private school students to join the club here, if there's not one at their private academy. So I'll be playing the part of my twin brother today at the bicycle racing club. You'll need to help me dress up."

"This is insane. You want to go to a bike club in drag?"

Ino arched an eyebrow. "Have you got a better idea?"

"Yeah, don't do it."

"Not an option."

"But why me?"

"Well, I've already got Chōji ready to join, but I want to be a good-looking boy, so you're the one who's going to help me dress up."

"What makes you think I'll join the bicycle racing club?"

"Because," Ino said and smiled sweetly. She grabbed Shikamaru's tie and straightened it. Before Shikamaru could defend himself, she pulled it tight, choking him a little. "I will tell your mother you've been sitting under sakura trees rather than attending your first week of school."

Shikamaru yanked himself free and pulled his tie loose so he could breathe. If there was any woman in the world more terrifying than Ino, it would be his mother. "Fine. But this all sounds terribly troublesome. Like every idea you have. Why are you so bent on bikes now, anyways?"

"Because I'm good at it!" Ino beamed and practically skipped away. "Hurry up, or you'll be late for school!"

…

Attending school was a terrible idea. The teachers kept interrupting Shikamaru's naps, and he received lecture after lecture for missing the first week of school. He was so bored that he almost went home until Ino pinned him to a wall as if she were his school rival in a shōnen manga. She dragged him into a spare classroom. Next thing he knew, she was half-naked. The only thing that spared either of them any shred of dignity was that she had bound her chest tightly with bandages to flatten her breasts. "Quick, help me! Which pair of socks should I shove into my gym trousers?" She held two pairs up. One was pink, and the other was purple.

Shikamaru sighed. "Shouldn't you have more shame undressing around boys?"

"Well, I might, if I thought the boy I undressed in front of liked girls."

"You are so troublesome," Shikamaru rumbled. He was not entirely surprised Ino had figured out his preference for other boys, but found it no less annoying. "Use the pink ones. A lot of times, they are pink."

"Really?" Ino blinked and eyed Shikamaru. "Drop your trousers and let me see."

Shikamaru shielded his trouser buttons with his hands, face heating. "No way!"

"Oh, fine." Within a flash, Ino pulled on green trousers and then shoved the pink pair of socks into the front. The bulge in front was good enough to pass, at least for now. She grabbed the shirt and tugged it on before facing Shikamaru again. "There. Does it look like I have boobs?"

Shikamaru eyed her chest. It was flat enough, so long as no one got suspicious. "It'll do. You might want to bind them more tightly tomorrow, though."

Ino frowned. "I can't do it any better on my own. You'll have to help."

"I am not touching your boobs. No way, no how. But I'll find you a binder."

Ino threw her arms around him. "Thank you, Shikamaru-kun." She kissed him on the cheek and let go. She pulled on her training jacket and grinned. "Now, help me with my hair."

"What a drag," Shikamaru muttered, and took the pins to get Ino's long hair inside her cap.

…

Shikamaru decided he hated the bicycle racing club within the first ten minutes of arriving. The captain, Hyūga Neji, was doing a fantastic job of making everyone hate him with his cold attitude. Rock Lee, his star climber, was doing an even better job of making everyone hate him by being so enthusiastic it was almost grotesque. The only semi-likeable upperclassmen on the team was Tenten, who wore a cap similar to Ino's, but emblazoned with Konoha's school symbol. He had a very high-pitched voice, but when the preliminary race began, he rode like the wind.

Long after Ino had taken off at a speed that no one would suspect a girl could produce, followed closely by Chōji (who'd either been inspired by Rock Lee's inappropriately epic speech or by Neji's assurance there would be free protein bars after the race), Shikamaru remained at the starting line, leaning over his handle bars, wishing he was back under the sakura trees. He hated doing anything that made him sweat. And he was sweating just sitting there, as there was no breeze.

One of the teachers wheeled a bike towards Shikamaru. He was very tall and muscular, and though teachers weren't really allowed to grow beards, he had one anyways. Despite that they were on school grounds, a lit cigarette dangled from his lips. Shikamaru began to cough, pointedly, but the teacher only took a long drag in response to his distress. He studied Shikamaru with sleepy eyes, and Shikamaru finally recognized him as his English teacher. Though the third-year English teacher, Hatake Kakashi, spoke English almost as well as the foreign teaching assistant, the first-year teacher's English was so bad that the foreign teaching assistant couldn't understand when he spoke, making class almost amusing—at least the parts Shikamaru had stayed awake for.

"Yo," the teacher said, eyeing him. "First year, yeah?"

Shikamaru yawned. "Yeah."

"I see you're burning up the track with your desire to be chosen for the club."

"I couldn't care less if I'm chosen or not. But you should choose Yamanaka Inorō. He really wants to join."

"You mean she."

Shikamaru blinked and paused. "She?" That was not a good sign.

"I saw her go into the spare classroom a girl and come out a boy. It's all right. Tenten is a girl, too, and she's my star sprinter. If Yamanaka can ride, and it seems like she can, then she's welcome to join. So long as she wears that cap, so I don't get in trouble with the principal. Well, more trouble than usual."

So the English teacher was in charge of the bicycle racing club and didn't mind girls on his team. Unusual. Shikamaru struggled to recall his name, but he had slept through that part of class.

The teacher seemed to guess Shikamaru's thoughts. "I'm Sarutobi Asuma. First year English teacher. For the eighth year in a row." Sarutobi sighed and took another drag of his cigarette. "I'm starting to think they don't like me."

"Maybe you should put more effort into teaching."

Sarutobi chuckled and straddled his bike. "That's rich, coming from a kid who hasn't even pushed his pedals once." He tossed his cigarette on the ground and smashed it flat with his heel. "You're Nara Shikamaru, right? Tell you what, kid. Put a little effort into riding your bike today, and after practice, I'll show you a neat game you might like."

"Shouldn't you be convincing me to put more effort into school?" Shikamaru asked, brows raised.

"Eh, fuck school. It's all boring as shit, anyways," Sarutobi said, and took off on his bicycle.

Within moments, Shikamaru found himself trying to catch up.

…

As it turned out, bicycling wasn't as bad as other sports. Shikamaru could at least sit down when he did it. And it turned out that he could appreciate the weather and the sky in a different way while bicycling. The clouds raced past (or rather he raced past the clouds), the treeline blurred to a painterly green, and the wind developed a life of its own. It was rather scenic, actually. When he mentioned that to Ino, she gave him a weird look. She was far too focused on going as fast as she could. So was Chōji, not so much to win, but because whenever he finished, Neji let him have his fill of protein bars.

Shikamaru actually felt pleased that he'd joined the Konoha Bicycle Racing Team. And not just for the biking, but for the shogi games that Asuma always played with Shikamaru after practice. Or during practice if neither of them felt like riding. Or sometimes before practice if they wanted to piss off Hyūga, who was quite attached to his schedules. Shikamaru had to admit that Hyūga was quite beautiful, but wound too tightly. Shikamaru got little enough sleep thanks to Ino. Asuma was by far the best part of the bicycling team. Though Asuma always lost to Shikamaru, he played every shogi game entirely differently. He was unpredictable, and that made his games more interesting than most anything else Shikamaru did.

The Inter-High loomed before them, not that Shikamaru especially cared. Everyone was training, but he wasn't that invested in it. In fact, he felt quite suspicious of the timing. Why would anyone hold such an important race in the middle of summer? Shikamaru thought he would die of heat stroke just in training. He would never understand sports, even though he was now involved in one.

"Ah, this is so troublesome. The cicadas won't shut up, it's so hot I sweat just because I've been breathing, and even Asuma has grown serious about this Inter-High nonsense. We're training too much," Shikamaru complained after another practice race where Ino had placed second only to Neji, their ace.

"You shouldn't call Asuma by his first name," Ino said. She was shaping up to be quite the climber and wasn't bad at a sprint. She might be the team's next ace. Even Asuma had said so.

Shikamaru sighed. "Why not? He told me I could."

"Hmph. Well, at least don't do it in class. You'll get in trouble. Or get him in trouble."

"It's not an issue. I sleep through most of his class, unless the foreign teaching assistant is there."

"But why? The foreign teacher can hardly understand him, his English is so bad. She and Hatake-sensei work together much better."

"I know. But watching Asuma confuse the foreigner is very entertaining."

Chōji finished his fourth sports drink and grinned at them both. "It is really funny. Especially the look on her face when he asks her to say something and then has to write it down because she didn't understand."

"Well, I think it's a travesty," Ino said with a toss of her head. A bit of long blond hair escaped her cap. "No one who speaks such poor English should be allowed to teach it. Hatake-sensei should teach all the classes."

"Asuma understands the grammar all right. And he can read and write English. He just doesn't bother speaking it right. It's too much effort. Anyways, who cares? Admit it, you like Asuma, too," Shikamaru said, fanning himself with his t-shirt.

Ino sighed. She couldn't fight that one too hard. After Shikamaru told her that Asuma knowingly let girls on the team, she had wept and hugged Asuma until Chōji pulled her off of him. Ino scrunched her face up at Shikamaru, but before she said anything, she seemed to notice something else. She stood, tucking her stray hair back into her cap. "Hey, Sakura-chan is bringing Sarutobi-sensei something," she said. Shikamaru followed her gaze as he sipped his Pocari, noting Sakura's scandalously pink head as she handed Asuma a letter. Ino watched her intently, and Sakura marched off with her head held high. Shikamaru wondered if those two would ever get along again.

Shikamaru stretched and watched Asuma as he read the letter. After a moment, Asuma stood up and pulled the cigarette out of his mouth. "Hey, kids. Meeting time."

Shikamaru sloped his way towards Asuma, with Ino and Chōji in tow. Neji, Rock Lee, and Tenten already crowded around him. Shikamaru, Ino and Chōji stood in the back. The rest of the club was on a supply run, since only the six of them had been picked for the Inter-High.

Asuma took a drag from his cigarette before speaking, once he had their attention. "There's an informal prefectural exchange between a few of the private academies. Since we allow private academy members, we're the only public school chosen to be in the exchange. We're heading to Chiba prefecture, to race with Sōhoku Academy. I'm taking the same team I'll bring to the Inter-High. We'll drive out there, stay in a hotel, meet them in the afternoon, have dinner, and then head home."

"Sōhoku? They're supposed to have a few really good riders!" Ino said, bouncing on her heels.

"Yeah. This is just an exchange between two schools, arranged through the prefectures, to improve our techniques and get ideas for the Inter-High. It's entirely voluntary, but I figured we could all use a change of scenery. So we're heading to Chiba prefecture." Asuma sighed. "So much trouble. But unfortunately Sōhoku is more important, so we have to do the traveling."

"A race?" Shikamaru scowled. "That sounds like a lot of effort. And we'll give away all our techniques."

"This is a bicycle racing club. What did you expect?" Tenten demanded, hands on her hips.

Shikamaru sighed. He knew better than to get into an argument with a girl. They usually fought harder than the boys.

Asuma stood up. "Well, we'll naturally keep our best tricks under our vest. As will Sōhoku. That's how these things work. In any case, we're heading out next week. You lot take the rest of the afternoon off and enjoy yourselves while I plan logistics." Just as Shikamaru turned around to follow Chōji, Asuma called out. "Except for you, Shikamaru-kun. I have a job for you."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, but didn't protest. He followed Asuma to the teacher's staffroom, where Asuma pulled out a water-stained notebook from one of his overstuffed and badly taped drawers. Shikamaru stared at the notebook as Asuma handed it to him. "What's this?"

"My notes on every race I've seen, with every rider. It's not well-organized, but it might be useful. It includes notes on Sōhoku. It doesn't include anything on their first years, so I found public records on two of them and tucked those sheets in. They've been in quite a few races. Only one first year is a mystery. So make use of my research."

"Why are you giving it to me? Shouldn't you give it to the captain?"

Asuma smiled. "Neji-kun won't be around forever. He's in his third year now. And genius that he is, he's much better as my ace than as my strategist."

"Eh?" Shikamaru asked, blinking.

"Shogi is fun, but it's also useful to determine people's abilities. You may not be a great rider at any point of your life, but you'll make a good captain. One day. Now go study the notebook. I've got to make travel arrangements." Asuma nodded.

"What about the English homework you assigned us?" Shikamaru asked, after glancing around. Most of the other teachers were working with their own clubs, and the vice principal was at the other side of the room. Only the foreign teacher remained in hearing distance, and her Japanese was worse than Asuma's English.

"Who the fuck cares about English homework? Study that." Asuma tapped the notebook, and then sat down in front of his desk.

Shikamaru smirked and headed out of the staffroom, notebook in hand.

…

Chiba was no cooler than Kobe, as it turned out. Since Asuma allowed him to sit in the front passenger seat of the van, Shikamaru turned the air conditioner up. Asuma gave him a dirty look, but didn't say anything. After all, it was Asuma's fault it was so hot, since he insisted on leaving the driver's seat window down so he could smoke.

The van puttered up the hill to Sōhoku Academy. The slope was quite steep, and Asuma's van was painfully old. The bikes rattled in the back, and Ino, sandwiched uncomfortably between Tenten and Chōji, glanced back. "Should we get out and push?"

"She'll make it. She's a tough little lady," Asuma said soothingly, stroking the cracked dashboard.

"Weirdo," Shikamaru muttered.

At the top of the hill was a school even fancier than Akatsuki Academy. Everyone peered out the window at it as Asuma drove towards what was presumably Sōhoku's bicycle racing club. Six students and a foreign teacher stood outside a small building, waiting for them. Shikamaru glanced at the students. The first one he noticed had long green hair with red highlights. Shikamaru never bothered looking at anyone else after that. The boy was tall and thin, and seemed old enough to be in his third year. He had two moles on his pointed face, and he looked as bored as Shikamaru often felt. Though Shikamaru had known he preferred boys since he was twelve, this was the first time he realized he had a type. And that green-haired boy was definitely his.

Everyone filed out, and the foreign teacher stepped forward. He was older than the assistants Shikamaru had usually seen in his schools, and, as became apparent the moment he started speaking, he was fully fluent in Japanese. "Welcome to Sōhoku Academy! Please enjoy your time here. This evening, we will race, then you are invited to dinner at one of our local establishments."

"So long as you're still picking up the tab," Asuma drawled around his cigarette as he bowed.

The foreign teacher laughed. "Makishima-kun's family has generously agreed to pay the bill tonight." He gestured at the beautiful green-haired boy. Shikamaru tried not to stare and failed.

"Imaizumi's family could have paid the bill just as well," Makishima grumped, glaring at nothing specifically. He had one hand fixed on a canted hip. Shikamaru stared at that for a long moment before remembering to rip his gaze away. Another tall boy with narrow eyes glared at Makishima.

"Ah, well, good to hear!" Asuma said, beaming. He said something in English that Shikamaru suspected was meant to be, "Nice to meet you, I am Sarutobi Asuma," but it came out all in katakana.

The foreign teacher stared for a moment before speaking. "Japanese is fine," he said fluently.

"Oh, good," Asuma said, with visible relief. "I'm terrible at English."

"It is no problem!" said the foreign teacher. "What subject did you say you taught again?"

"… English."

The foreign teacher stared again and then gave a pained smile. It was the same one that Hatake Kakashi gave Asuma whenever they worked together. "I see. Well, please come to the locker room, so we can all change."

"Oh, well, we'd better wait," Ino said hurriedly.

Tenten looked nervous. "We have conditions."

"They can't change with the others," Asuma said, beaming. "For health reasons. It's not a problem, they'll change right after."

"I see. Well, then, right this way." The foreign teacher, who Shikamaru learned was named Mr. Pierre, led them down the path to a small building off to the side. The Sōhoku bicycle racing club apparently had their own private lockers connected to their bicycle storehouse. Asuma wandered about, talking bike nonsense with Mr. Pierre while the boys got dressed. Shikamaru could only be grateful that Makishima was already wearing his training gear. As it was, Shikamaru found himself tripping over his own bicycle pants when Makishima walked in to pass out water bottles to the Konoha team.

"Thanks," Shikamaru muttered when Makishima put the bottle down in front of him.

Makishima eyed him. "You're a first year?" he asked. He had an odd way of speaking, always ending his sentences with "-sho." Shikamaru rather liked it.

"Er, yeah."

"Your pineapple hairstyle is terrible. You should grow it out." Makishima eyed the top of his head with an attractively sour expression. "By your third year, your hair might even be as long as mine." He then sauntered off to pass a water bottle to Chōji, who seemed immune to his charms.

Shikamaru touched his stiff ponytail, thinking that he might just do that, and then headed outside. While the girls changed, everyone else began their warm-ups. Shikamaru kept getting distracted by watching Makishima stretch. Long limbs splayed out, lurid green hair sliding over his face—how did the other boys in his club stand it? Shikamaru wouldn't be able to function with Makishima on his team.

Asuma snapped his fingers in front of Shikamaru. He smiled a little. "Hey, remember my notes? Keep focused. We don't want to embarrass ourselves."

Shikamaru glared up at him. Asuma's notes hadn't mentioned that Makishima was distractingly good-looking. But he couldn't embarrass himself, not in front of Makishima, at least. The moment he thought that, Shikamaru cursed himself. The last thing he wanted was motivation. He wasn't some ridiculous shōnen manga protagonist. If anyone was that, it would be Uzumaki Naruto, a noisy boy that had been in most of Shikamaru's classes since elementary school. Not a bad guy, but he had too much energy for Shikamaru to deal with for longer than half an hour. Luckily, he played basketball, which gave Shikamaru peace, since he wouldn't accept cash money to play a sport that involved running and jumping and throwing balls. Thinking of shōnen manga protagonists led Shikamaru to briefly consider the boy with the glasses that Rock Lee had already made friends with. He exuded the same tiresome optimistic energy that Shikamaru associated with a shōnen manga lead, though he wasn't as obnoxious as most. As usual, Rock Lee spoke a mile a minute, but Shikamaru didn't pay attention to a word of it. He didn't have the energy to keep up. The boy with glasses did, though.

After a substantial amount of warm-up, Shikamaru met with his teammates and told them the plan. Everyone was soon told to get on their bikes and follow Sōhoku's captain to where their race would begin. As they took off, Shikamaru kept pace behind Makishima. It wasn't a bad view at all, especially with Makishima's hair flying in the wind.

…

At more than halfway through the race, Shikamaru had managed to stay behind Makishima the whole time, despite the heat. Usually he would be in last place now, but that spot had been reserved for Chōji, who they last saw on a break with the big guy from Sōhoku as both of them dug into a convenience store bag filled with snacks. As Shikamaru had planned, Chōji had challenged the big guy to a mid-race eating contest. As big as Sōhoku's top sprinter was, there was no way he could out-eat Chōji.

Makishima, however, was not the fastest rider—at least until he made it to a climb, and then he went very fast. Once he started dancing, or riding forward, ass attractively in the air, he did a weird thing where he dramatically tilted his bicycle side-to-side. Shikamaru had never seen anyone do that. He'd remembered the notes Asuma gave him—the green-haired boy from Sōhoku was average until he made it to a climb. Shikamaru personally hated climbing. But he also hated sprinting. He generally hated anything that required effort and made his chest burn. He hated it even more when it was hot. He hated everything when it was hot.

As they headed up an incline, Makishima glanced back. "Still back there?" he asked, riding his bicycle practically sideways. "You're wheezing pretty hard."

The inclines were the worst, but Shikamaru learned if he timed his pedaling rotation just right, and found a cadence best suited to his incline and terrain, it allowed him more space to breathe. This new incline was a little steeper than the last, so he had to speed up his cadence. "I'm adapting," he said. The worst part about sports, any sports, was the difficulty they presented in basic, necessary functions that Shikamaru cherished, like breathing.

Makishima continued to dance his way up the incline much like the "Peak Spider" he had been described as, but he was not going so fast that Shikamaru could not hear him. "You learn even faster than Onoda-kun, but you don't have his natural talent or his physical strength."

Shikamaru recalled Onoda as the small boy with glasses. "Physical strength?" he asked.

"Sure. To be a good biker, you have to be more than smart. You have to train your body, too." When Makishima glanced back, he leered. It was charmingly creepy. "You can't just hop on a bike and expect to be good."

"While that's usually true, you're only accounting for one aspect of a race."

"One aspect?"

Shikamaru smiled and slowed down a bit. Makishima slowed down as well, maintaining hearing distance. Shikamaru's plan had already worked. "A race won solely by physical exertion. But bicycle racing does not exist in a vacuum. There are outside factors that affect it. Weather, road conditions, body conditions, availability of water and food, and, most importantly, personal interaction."

Makishima glanced forward and then back. "Personal interaction? I mean, of course, we can motivate or demotivate each other. But I don't know what else you mean by that."

"People do more than affect others' motivations. They can influence their actions and even altogether remove someone from the race."

Makishima's eyes narrowed. "That sounds like cheating."

"It's only cheating if free will is negated. Take for example your top sprinter, Tadokoro Jin. He loves to eat, and he's very competitive."

"So?"

"Well, if I told Konoha's own eating machine, famous for winning every all-you-can-eat contest in our prefecture, to tail Tadokoro-san until he took a break for a snack, and then challenge him to an eating contest, chances are very high that he might agree to it. Don't you think?"

"What?" Makishima blinked. "I passed him at the break station, with the heavyset hairy boy."

"That would be Akimichi Chōji, Kansai Prefectural Eating Champion."

Makishima scowled, which was almost as frightening as his leer. "Okay, so what? That's only one of our racers. We even have another sprinter."

"The boy from our prefecture, Shōkichi Naruko?" Shikamaru grinned. "We had the most details on his races, since they were held in our prefecture. As big a fan as Rock Lee is of everything Kansai, I'm pretty sure he'll keep that redhead distracted."

"Our ace is not someone you'll be able to defeat easily."

"True. But neither is our ace. That race, I have to leave in their hands. But Hyūga Neji is a genius. He was made the ace and the captain in his first year at Konoha."

"Fine. Then we have a strong climber."

"The boy with narrow eyes? He's won quite a lot of races, I've read. However, we also have a powerful climber, Yamanaka Inorō. As a potential all-rounder, he's also very good at blocking. He'll keep your climber busy." The moment Shikamaru had mentioned Imaizumi Shunsuke's racing record, Ino's eyes had lit up. She'd been very eager to race him. Shikamaru only hoped she was racing as well as she did in practice.

"I was talking about me, actually," Makishima drawled.

"But you've been keeping pace with me as much as I have you, waiting to see what I could do. You've slowed down at least three times during this conversation alone."

Makishima's eyes widened. "You might actually be smarter than Teshima-kun. Dammit." He sped up then, soon leaving Shikamaru behind on the slope. There was no way Shikamaru could keep up with that, not when Makishima was trying. That was all right, though. They had just reached the peak, and Shikamaru could let gravity do its work on the way down. He might even get a nice breeze.

…

Shikamaru's plan only partially worked. While Tadokoro lost the eating contest to Chōji, and they both lost the race thanks to Kobe's delicious cakes, Onoda, the small boy with glasses, proved a surprise winner when he left Tenten in the dust to catch up to Makishima at the last moment. Ino managed to best Imaizumi by a single wheel's rotation. Her hat had flown off in her final push, but to Shikamaru's amazement, Ino had cut her hair some time before the race. No one realized she was a girl; her secret remained safe. On the other hand, Rock Lee failed to distract Shōkichi. Lee seemed to have forgotten Shōkichi was his opponent, and instead cheered him on with the same enthusiasm he gave everyone on his own team. Makishima, of course, pulled ahead of Shikamaru, and he and Onoda had placed third and fourth, respectively. Kinjō, Sōhoku's captain, came in first, with Neji a very close second.

Once they had all showered and headed to the restaurant, Shikamaru wandered off to the side. He scuffed his worn sneakers on the pavement as Mr. Pierre and Makishima saw to the arrangements. A breeze had started up, but it didn't make the evening any less oppressive.

"Hey, you're not down about today, are you?" Asuma asked.

Shikamaru started at his presence and glanced up. "Eh? Oh…" He sighed. "Maybe a little. I didn't make a very good first impression for us."

"You think so?" Asuma shook his head. "Clever as you are, you're a little clueless sometimes. I think you did fine. More than fine."

"But we didn't win."

"This is just a stupid one-off exchange race. And your first time working as our strategist. So we didn't win. But you learned something, didn't you?"

Shikamaru blinked. He had, actually. He'd learned to ride a little better, personally, but he also learned that being underhanded was effective, with the right players and the right tactics. He understood who could handle what better. He nodded.

"And I reckon you learned more than if we had actually won. So maybe that's a win, too." Asuma grinned and put an arm around Shikamaru's shoulders. "Now, c'mon. Let's eat."

Smiling ever so slightly, Shikamaru followed Asuma into the restaurant. He didn't feel so bad, on reflection. On the contrary, he felt like he'd actually accomplished something. It was a strangely thrilling sensation.

…

The restaurant had served them a delicious all-you-can-eat barbeque. Despite winning his eating contest, Chōji still stuffed his face. Shikamaru only hoped Chōji wouldn't wind up in the hospital again. The last time, Chōji hadn't shut up about how both Ino and Tenten had visited him.

Asuma pulled up the van for everyone to climb into, but then it promptly died. The entire Sōhoku team attempted to help him fix it while he cooed over it as if it were a real person. Knowing nothing about mechanics, Shikamaru wandered off and found a wooden fence to sit on. He picked at his teeth with a toothpick from the restaurant and glanced up at the night sky. Clouds had gathered, a darker formation over an already dark sky. Though it was dark, the air still felt superheated. It would rain that night. Shikamaru could smell it on the wind.

"You don't play fair, pineapple head," said a familiar voice to his right.

Shikamaru glanced over and saw Makishima standing there. He wore what seemed to be pink and purple plaid pants and a white shirt with lurid blue sleeves. Despite being perhaps the strangest example of fashion Shikamaru had ever seen, it somehow complemented Makishima's vivid green hair. He was definitely unique. Shikamaru liked that even more.

" _Sho_ ," Makishima muttered. "Are you not even going to respond?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "I don't cheat. I just manipulate events. It's not about 'playing fair.' It's about using what is available to my advantage."

Makishima's wide mouth quirked. "Heh. I suppose that's why you're captain material and I'm just a climber."

"You're a pretty good climber. I like your style. It's very original."

Makishima tilted his head. "You actually like it?"

"Yeah." Shikamaru smiled, but not too much. "I do. It's interesting. Like you."

Makishima rested a slender, long-fingered hand on Shikamaru's head. The touch warmed Shikamaru through. The smile he gave Shikamaru was both terrifying and thrilling. "You're cute. Shame about you just being a first year." His pants started buzzing, drawing Shikamaru's gaze downward.

"Ah, I think someone is trying to call you."

"Don't worry about it. That someone is always trying to call me." Makishima shrugged. "Here's my number. Call me sometime. I'll introduce you to Tōdō. It's a great test of character."

Shikamaru took the piece of paper thrust at him. On it was a cute little teddy bear eating another cute little teddy bear alive. And a phone number. When Shikamaru looked up, Makishima was already ambling away, hands in his pockets. Shikamaru's face heated, and he felt something strange move in his stomach that wasn't his dinner.

"You and that guy sound so much alike," Ino said, from behind the wooden fence. She was sitting on the grass, her short blond locks framing her face. "It's like you have the same voice with a slightly different inflection. Weird."

"Eh!" Shikamaru nearly fell off in surprise, then glared down at Ino. "You were spying on me."

Ino smiled and took a sip from the can of grape Fanta she must have got from a vending machine. "It's not every day that my little boy grows up and gets his first crush."

"Shut up."

"So, what do you think of my new hair?" Ino ran her fingers through her shorn locks.

Shikamaru shook his head and leaned forward to rest his chin on his hand. In the distance, Makishima hovered by the rest of the Sōhoku team as they debated how to fix the van. "I think it suits you. It shows your determination to win."

"I think you showed a little determination today, too."

"Geez, would you stop being so mean to me?"

Ino laughed. "You think we'll win the Inter-High, Shikamaru-kun?"

"Who knows? But we'll still give them a hell of a race. No sense in wasting anyone's time if we're all heading out there anyways."

Ino leaned her head back all the way and grinned up at Shikamaru. "You'll see that green-haired boy there again, you know."

"Yeah." Shikamaru cleared his throat, trying not to look too eager. He wanted to do very well at the Inter-High. Otherwise Makishima might forget about him in the excitement. "We'll see all kinds of people."

Asuma's van finally roared to life with a few cheers from the Sōhoku team. Ino hopped up. "Better get going. We've got a lot of training ahead."

"Heh." Shikamaru sloped after her, his own hands in his pockets, and passed Makishima. He nodded once at the older boy and climbed into the van.

As they drove away, the Sōhoku team waved them off, especially the smallest one, Onoda. Rock Lee cried beside Shikamaru, apparently already quite attached to him. Shikamaru shook his head and watched Makishima. The rest of the Sōhoku team walked away after some time, leaving Makishima the last one in view until the van rounded a corner.

When Makishima, too, disappeared, Shikamaru turned to the front and stretched his legs, relishing the strange sense of motivation that he had come down with. The van rumbled beneath his feet, and his teammates chattered around him, and Asuma turned on the radio. Shikamaru soaked it all in and closed his eyes.

Motivation was still highly overrated, he decided, but not nearly so bad as predicted.

_End._


End file.
